> ## Content Index
> Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.bodiesburied.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further.

# 18 U.S.C. 930, Possession of firearms and dangerous weapons in Federal facilities: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-statute-18-usc-930-case-outcomes/
- Published: 2026-11-03T06:55:44.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-03T06:55:44.000Z
- Description: Most federal cases under 18 U.S.C. 930 ended in dismissal, not conviction. Of 350 defendants whose cases ended in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 243 (69%) had their cases dismissed and 103 (29%) were convicted. The charge was a Class A misdemeanor for 330 of them (94%).
- Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart
- Tags: Understanding Trends, Federal

[Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) › 18 U.S.C. 930

**In brief:** Most federal cases under 18 U.S.C. 930 ended in dismissal, not conviction. Of 350 defendants whose cases ended in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 243 (69%) had their cases dismissed and 103 (29%) were convicted. The charge was a Class A misdemeanor for 330 of them (94%).

Updated November 3, 2026 · Sources: U.S. Sentencing Commission and Federal Judicial Center, fiscal years 2016–2025

This post uses the Federal Judicial Center's records of 350 federal defendants whose cases ended in fiscal years 2016 to 2025\. The series also draws on the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 659,036 people sentenced in fiscal years 2016 to 2025\. It is part of the [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) series, which builds on [Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/military-sentencing-guidelines-federal-system/). How the numbers were built: [How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-data-methodology/).

## A Section Where Dismissals Were Common

Title 18, section 930 of the U.S. Code is headed "Possession of firearms and dangerous weapons in Federal facilities". The numbers below count every defendant whose most serious charge at the end of the case fell under this section.

Dismissals were the most common result: 243 of 350 defendants, or 69%. Guilty pleas followed at 100 (29%). Only 7 defendants (2%) went to trial.

In these records, dismissed means the charges were dismissed. That includes dismissals on the government's motion, for example after a defendant pleaded guilty in another case. A dismissal here does not mean a court found the defendant not guilty.

## Mostly Misdemeanors

The level of the charge was a Class A misdemeanor for 330 defendants (94%). Only 20 (6%) faced a felony on this charge, and 0 faced a petty offense.

The level is the one recorded at the end of the case. It may differ from the level when the case was first filed.

## Prison Terms Among Those Convicted

Of the 103 defendants convicted, by plea or at trial, 26 received a prison term on this charge. That is 25% of those convicted.

Among those with a term of 1 month or more, the median was 8 months. The median is the middle term in the list. With 26 prison terms, it rests on a small group, and the records here do not show what the other convicted defendants received instead.

## Only 7 Trials in 10 Fiscal Years

Trials were rare. Of the 7 trials, 4 ended in an acquittal. Bench trials, decided by a judge, made up 5 of them, with 3 acquittals. The other 2 were jury trials, with 1 acquittal.

These counts are too small to describe a rate. A single case in either direction would change them noticeably.

Yearly totals were also small, from 19 cases ended in fiscal year 2020 to 52 in fiscal year 2021\. Dismissals outnumbered guilty pleas in every fiscal year shown. In fiscal year 2021, 87% were dismissed and 13% pleaded guilty.

| Fiscal year | Cases ended | Pleaded guilty | Dismissed | Trials | Acquitted at trial |
| ----------- | ----------- | -------------- | --------- | ------ | ------------------ |
| 2016        | 48          | 27%            | 73%       | 0      | 0                  |
| 2017        | 30          | 33%            | 60%       | 2      | 2 (2 of 2)         |
| 2018        | 33          | 45%            | 55%       | 0      | 0                  |
| 2019        | 43          | 35%            | 65%       | 0      | 0                  |
| 2020        | 19          | 37%            | 53%       | 2      | 1 (1 of 2)         |
| 2021        | 52          | 13%            | 87%       | 0      | 0                  |
| 2022        | 29          | 21%            | 72%       | 2      | 0 (0 of 2)         |
| 2023        | 36          | 28%            | 72%       | 0      | 0                  |
| 2024        | 38          | 26%            | 71%       | 1      | 1 (1 of 1)         |
| 2025        | 22          | 32%            | 68%       | 0      | 0                  |

## Who Represented the Defendants?

Federal public or community defenders represented 150 defendants (43%). Retained private counsel represented 71 (20%). Another 61 (17%) represented themselves, and CJA panel attorneys, private lawyers appointed by the court, represented 53 (15%).

Dismissal rates differed by group: 84% for self-represented defendants, 75% for public or community defenders, 56% for retained counsel, and 45% for CJA panel attorneys. Guilty plea rates followed the reverse order, from 16% to 51%.

These figures describe groups of cases, not the quality of lawyers. Defendants who hire a lawyer and those who receive an appointed lawyer face different charges and circumstances. Type of counsel is recorded only at the end of the case.

| Type of counsel at the end of the case | Defendants | Pleaded guilty | Dismissed | Trials | Acquitted at trial |
| -------------------------------------- | ---------- | -------------- | --------- | ------ | ------------------ |
| Federal public or community defender   | 150        | 23%            | 75%       | 3      | 1 (1 of 3)         |
| CJA panel attorney                     | 53         | 51%            | 45%       | 2      | 1 (1 of 2)         |
| Private (retained) counsel             | 71         | 41%            | 56%       | 2      | 2 (2 of 2)         |
| Self-represented                       | 61         | 16%            | 84%       | 0      | 0                  |

## Limits of These Counts

The records count how cases ended, not why. They cannot show the reasons for the many dismissals, the facts behind any charge, or what led a judge or jury to acquit.

There is no close court-martial counterpart for this section in the approved crosswalk. The post therefore reports only federal numbers.

### How We Counted

Every federal defendant whose case ended in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 and whose most serious charge at the end of the case (TTITLE1) was under 18 U.S.C. 930, any subsection (350), Federal Judicial Center, counted as in the federal courts' Table D-4\. Type of counsel is TCOUNSEL; labels from the FJC criminal codebook. Section heading from the U.S. Code as published by the Office of the Law Revision Counsel (release point 119-136).

Federal fiscal years run from October 1 to September 30\. No person, judge, or lawyer is identified in any of these records.

### What to Keep in Mind

**Who is in each set of numbers.** The federal sentencing numbers come from the U.S. Sentencing Commission. They count only people who were convicted and sentenced in federal district court. People whose cases were dismissed or who were acquitted are not in them. The military numbers come from court-martial results, which include acquittals. To compare acquittal or dismissal rates, the federal side uses a different source: the Federal Judicial Center's case data, which counts every defendant whose case ended.

**How "plea" and "trial" are counted.** In the federal sentencing numbers, "trial" means the person was convicted after a trial, including people who pleaded guilty to some counts and went to trial on others. People acquitted at trial are not in these numbers at all (see "Who is in each set of numbers"). In the federal case data, the trial rate counts both convictions and acquittals at trial among all defendants whose cases ended, including dismissed cases. Military numbers count contested cases that reached a verdict. These denominators are not the same, and each post states the one it uses.

**Time periods.** Federal numbers are by federal fiscal year (October 1 to September 30), based on the sentencing date. The military numbers are by trial date. Neither source has the date of the offense, so a change in law shows up in either data set gradually.

**Type of counsel describes groups of cases, not lawyers.** The Federal Judicial Center records the type of counsel at the end of the case. Defendants who hire a lawyer differ from defendants who receive an appointed lawyer in their charges, criminal history, and circumstances, and some defendants change lawyers during a case. Differences in outcomes by type of counsel therefore cannot be credited to the type of lawyer.

## Related Analysis

- [Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/military-sentencing-guidelines-federal-system/) (the background article)
- [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) (all federal posts)
- [How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-data-methodology/) (sources and method)
- [18 U.S.C. 922, Unlawful acts: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-statute-18-usc-922-case-outcomes/) (same title of the U.S. Code)
- [18 U.S.C. 924, Penalties: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-statute-18-usc-924-case-outcomes/) (same title of the U.S. Code)
- [18 U.S.C. 933, Trafficking in firearms: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2023–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-statute-18-usc-933-case-outcomes/) (same title of the U.S. Code)
- [18 U.S.C. 1001, Statements or entries generally: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-statute-18-usc-1001-case-outcomes/) (same title of the U.S. Code)
- [Appointed vs. Retained Lawyers in Federal Criminal Cases: How Cases Ended, 2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-appointed-vs-retained-counsel-outcomes/)
- [Are Courts-Martial More Likely to End in Acquittal Than Federal Trials?](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-trial-acquittal-rates-vs-courts-martial/)
- [U.S. Sentencing Commission, Individual Offender Datafiles](https://www.ussc.gov/research/datafiles/commission-datafiles?ref=bodiesburied.com) (source)
- [Federal Judicial Center, Integrated Database (criminal defendants)](https://www.fjc.gov/research/idb?ref=bodiesburied.com) (source)

**About the author.** Jocelyn C. Stewart is a retired Army JAG with more than 24 years of trying courts-martial and more than 200 jury trials. She hosts *Where All The Bodies Are Buried* and runs the [Law Office of Jocelyn C. Stewart](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/?ref=bodiesburied.com). This analysis is for education and information only. It is not legal advice, and every case is different.